


Hope will carry on

by ImaginationReaper98



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-09
Updated: 2018-02-09
Packaged: 2019-03-15 18:31:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13619193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImaginationReaper98/pseuds/ImaginationReaper98
Summary: Rey and Poe leave the conference room together in silence. He doesn't talk about the tear stains in her cheeks and she pretends to ignore the sad look in his eyes that he struggles to brush away.





	Hope will carry on

They call her a Jedi now, Rey thinks she'll never get used to it, she doesn't even think she deserves it.

_The galaxy might need a legend, you said so yourself._

"I'm no legend, never will be." she mutters, worrying at the sleeves of her jacket.

_Then be something else, be what they need. Be you._

"I'm trying." The words felt heavy, but they ring with hope.

She can sense Luke smiling. It's surprisingly infectious.

"Rey?" Finn calls out and knocks on her door. "It's time."

"Go ahead, I'll catch up in a minute." 

"Alright."

Rey closes her eyes for a moment and steels herself with a deep breathe before standing up. She's nervous, she's not even sure why.

By the time she reaches the conference room, a small dusty hall that they managed to polish up save a few rusty corners, everyone is already settled down and all heads turn to her. Their faces feature a spectrum of reactions, from subtle awe to outright wonder, but Rey's eyes eventually find Rose and Kaydel offering her their amiable smiles with Finn waving her over. 

Rey walks over to them and sits herself down on the vacant spot beside Rose. They were quick to befriend each other, though Rose was more comfortable with how friendships work in a more mundane sense beyond life-threatening circumstances. Rey's catching up though, she wants to, it's best not to entertain loneliness during desperate times.

Rose smirks at her. "First Rebellion meeting nerves?"

"I guess so."

"Same."

General Leia is standing by the round table at the center of the hall, listening intently to Poe while he talks with his hands forming invisible shapes in the air. She grasps his arm, a motherly gesture that calms him, and says something that made him nod eagerly before turning around to retreat to his seat.

Leia meets her eyes and her lips curl up to smile at Rey, instantly blanketing her with warmth even from a distance. 

Poe plunks himself down beside her. "This seat's not taken, right?" he asks.

"I don't think so."

"And you don't mind if I sit beside you?"

Rey raises an eyebrow instinctively. "Why would I?"

Poe flashes her one of his easy smiles, one that fills her up to the brim. She has no trouble admitting that to herself, but letting it show on her face is not something she finds appealing at all. So she looks away to shift her focus back to Leia again.

 

 

...

 

 

Leia sets her aside after their fruitful and surprisingly inspirational meeting, alongside a glowing Poe Dameron. The thin crowd of people felt like an army when they responded to his words, and he is obviously still reveling at the surge of passion it brought about.

He lays a hand on top of her shoulder as they stand in front of Leia and from the looks of it, it seems like he's only half-aware that he's doing it. Rey doesn't mind, his palm is warm even through the garment of her jacket and tunic.

Leia clasps her hands in front of her, gazing at both of them with equal parts maternal tenderness and regal gravity. She is the truest leader among them all, and the most resilient. Rey idly thinks she's never going to be half as much as tough and brilliant as her.

"First of all, I want to thank you both." she begins. "I know that you're struggling with something deep inside, all of us are in our own ways. But you did not falter, people draw strength from yours."

Rey isn't sure if she should thank her for what was surely a great compliment, she's not even certain if she did anything at all. She just showed up and and tried not to screw up, that's all. But if in Leia's eyes that was already something, who is she to question that? 

"I'm not going to be around forever, I know both of you are aware of that." It doesn't escape her notice how Poe's jaw tenses, and Rey herself feels a stab in her chest at the prospect of the general gone. "But I give you my trust."

 _Hope will carry on_ , Luke's voice says calmly, reverberating through her soul and barely above a whisper.

From the way Leia smiles when she looks at her, Rey suspects she isn't the only one who can hear him. And along with that, Rey senses Leia's quiet fear, hidden beneath a calm and tough exterior, of how she won't always be there to fight for all the good in this galaxy, and Rey somehow feels how it all slips away and replaced with nothing but genuine hope. 

Rey's eyes start to sting and with Poe gently squeezing her shoulder, it is proving difficult to stop the tears. She tries, though, so hard.

"This planet we're in, we won't be here for long. The First Order will be constantly seeking us out and will jump at any chance to vaporize every trace of hope left. I want you two to be ready for anything."

"We will." Poe says with a firm nod. 

Leia reaches for their hands, clasping them slowly yet urgently. "I hope this isn't too much to ask, but be what the galaxy needs you to be, whatever form you choose to fulfill that."

Rey's tears finally fall down quietly.

 

 

....

 

 

Rey and Poe leave the conference room together in silence. He doesn't talk about the tear stains in her cheeks and she pretends to ignore the sad look in his eyes that he struggles to brush away. Hope is powerful enough to carry the weight of a Rebellion, but not that strong to ward off all traces of melancholy and grief that war brings.

Rey thinks it must be tougher for him to hear Leia acknowledge a dreadful fact. It's hard for her and she doesn't even know Leia as well as he does. She decides, then and there, that they will share this weight together. It'll be easier that way. 

Their fingers brush. Rey takes his hand. She sees his face subtly crease with delight, a tinge of surprise in his eyes. Instinctively, she almost buries down the pleasantly tight feeling in her chest, a distinct sensation that comes with anything associated with this particular pilot (no, he's more than just a pilot), though Rey stops that from happening, surprising even herself. She turns to him and meets his gaze, a look in his eyes that would usually make her want to punch him for being so goddamn nice and for making her feel a myriad of feelings she's not sure she'll ever be ready for, but she gives Poe a look of her own. It feels so comforting and exhilirating all at once that she questions why she hasn't done this before.

If they can share a common burden, then Rey believes they can offer each other a steady source of comfort. 

"Thanks." Poe tells her.

"For what?"

"For tolerating me, I badly needed it. I know it bothers you."

"What bothers me, exactly?"

"You know what I'm talking about." he says, eyes crinkling pleasantly at the edges.

Rey returns his smile. "Don't get used to it."


End file.
